Chapter 7

Markus finished cooking dinner for himself and was savoring the delicious scent. He wasn't quite on Sanji's level yet, but if he kept it up he could probably surpass Sanji in a couple of months or so. After dishing his food out onto some plates, he took the time to unfold the dining table from the floor. It rested in the middle of the cabin floor between the two beds on the port and starboard sides. Once it was locked in place, he started pulling out random plates of food for Bonney and setting them on one side, then set his own on the other.

"Dinner's done! Bring the boat to a stop and get in here!"

He felt the boat coming to a gentle stop followed by Bonney bursting into the cabin with drool dripping from the corner of her mouth. She wiped it away before sitting on her bed and looking at the food set on the table. Markus started to calmly eat his food while trying not to look at Bonney eating. She was just so... unrefined. It's not like he thought he was some snobbish noble or anything when he was eating but he at least used silverware!

As he was eating he didn't hear the monstrous sounds of food being gobbled, so he curiously looked at Bonney. What he saw made his jaw drop and his eyes widen. He didn't know what it was but something about what he was seeing was just... wrong! Jewelry 'Big Eater' Bonney, the woman who would sit on a table, surrounded by food, and greedily eating with both of her hands, was daintily eating her dinner at a moderate pace.

Bonney continued to slowly eat one bite of food at a time until she noticed Markus staring at her with his mouth hanging open. Seeing the shocked look on his face pissed her off for some reason, "What the hell are you gawking at?"

Markus shook his head to recover and gave Bonney a serious look, "Since when can you eat like a normal person?"

The question infuriated Bonney, for obvious reasons, without even thinking about it, she swung her leg forward and kicked his shin beneath the table. Markus could have avoided it or shocked her, instead, he allowed her to kick him. He realized how rude he had been to her and decided she deserved to get a hit on him for it. It's not like it would hurt him anyway. Her foot slammed into his shin and he gave the appropriate jump in response.

Bonney glared at him, "You asshole! I'm a proper lady! Of course I can eat normally! I'm just usually too hungry to give a fuck about how I eat! Stop staring at me, you bastard."

Markus slowly nodded his head and focused back on his own food. He was actually starting to take some pride in his food. It wasn't to the point where it would give buffs but it was still tasty and filling. The two of them continued their dinner together in silence until Markus finished his food first, another surprise for him.

After finishing his meal, he set the plate in the small sink in the compact kitchen. He waited patiently for Bonney to finish and once she was satisfied, he returned the table to its position on the floor. Bonney gave him a complicated look as she spoke, "I want to take a shower."

Markus nodded in understanding. They'd been together for days now and she hadn't had a chance to wash up since they'd met. She still had dirt on her clothing from fighting Blackbeard. He walked over and placed his hand on a metal panel to channel his electricity into it. Bonney watched and asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

"This boat has an electric water heater, I'm heating up the water for you. I'll stay down here and keep the water hot so you can have your privacy up top."

Bonney selected some clothing that looked comfortable to sleep in along with a brand new towel. As she was leaving the cabin, she turned to glare at Markus, "If you dare try to peek on me, I swear I will do everything in my power to turn you into an old man! I will make you so old your balls will hang to your knees and no amount of 'energetic' foods or drinks will help you 'stand' again. Got it?"

Markus shuddered at the threat. It was just that terrifying to hear. He was definitely stronger than Bonney, there was no doubt about that. However, the boat was small and they would be sleeping just a couple of feet apart. Just one lapse in judgment, one simple touch from her, and he'd be ancient. He put on his 'serious' face and nodded, "I swear not to peek."

Bonney continued to eye him for a few moments before turning around and heading out of the cabin. Unbeknownst to Markus, the moment she turned around, a bright yet sinister grin adorned her face. She'd meant every word of her threat. She stepped out of the cabin and shut the door tightly. She had another trick up her sleeve to scar him for life if he peeked. As she walked into the roof of the cabin, her body began to rapidly age until she looked like a short and wrinkled old woman. She didn't go too far or it would become troublesome to wash.

While Bonney did her thing, Markus kept the water hot and made zero effort to peek at her. He wasn't that type of person... Okay, he'd peeked on Nami once in Alabasta but that was different! It was a group activity! He wasn't like a certain cook.

Bonney showered in peace, though she kept an eye on the cockpit of the boat to make sure she didn't even see a hint of Markus. When she finished washing up, she reverted to her preferred young looks and wore her fluffy new clothing. For her sleeping clothes, she wore a tank top that showed off her cleavage and midriff along with short-shorts that barely covered her rear.

As she stepped back into the cabin, Markus glanced at her and froze. Bonney was a vision in the dim moonlight. Her long pink hair was still a little wet and clung to her body. The skimpy clothing she wore did hardly anything to hide her body from sight. Despite drying off with a towel, her body was still a little damp and caused the thin clothing to cling tightly to her. If Sanji saw her right now, he'd be on the ground bleeding out from his nose.

Markus had to admit, once more, that Bonney was a bombshell. She looked even better without that heart-shaped bit of lipstick in the middle of her lips. Leaving them completely bare actually enhanced her beauty even more. He swallowed loudly and only looked away when he noticed she was glaring at him while flexing her fingers. He coughed and stared directly at the wall.

Bonney continued to stare at him for a while before snorting and crawling into her bed and getting comfortable. Markus let out a sigh of relief and turned around. He stripped off everything but his pants. Bonney watched with a bit of interest, though her eyes widened as she saw his body. Markus didn't wear tight clothing so he didn't look very buff but the moment he took his shirt off he revealed perfectly sculpted muscles.

Of course, his body looked good. His high Strength and Charisma stats combined to make him look like an Adonis. He just wore comfortable somewhat loose clothing that happened to hide his sculpted body and made him look a little scrawny. When he turned around to pull down the blanket on his bed, Bonney got her first look at the massive tattoo on his back. Her eyes widened and she couldn't help asking, "Is that your Jolly Roger?"

Markus looked at her over his shoulder and nodded. She looked closely at it, "It looks like Strawhat's, only slightly different."

Markus nodded again, "That's right. I might not intend to continue my journey with that crew in the future but I also don't plan to forget my origins. They are my friends, my family, and I want to honor that as I move forward. So I took the flag I lived under before and added more to it to represent myself for the future."

Bonney observed the work of art on his back for a bit longer before rolling over on her side and facing away from him, "Whatever." She turned her head to look at him with one eye, "If you even think about trying to touch me while I'm sleeping... Well, you know the consequences."

Markus sighed and climbed into his bed while complaining, "What do you think I am? Some sort of pervert?"

"Yes."

The single word was like an arrow through his heart. Why?! Just why?! He'd never done anything to warrant that! He continued to complain to himself as he got comfortable. This would actually be his first time sleeping in the bed on his boat, and he was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it felt. It seemed like his fifty million was well spent. Everything about the boat was high class and comfortable, yet durable and well built. He definitely needed to find an artist to help him design his ship so he could go to that old man again!

While he was relaxing and getting ready to sleep, he flipped through his memories looking for ideas on what kind of ship he wanted. He was leaning toward a destroyer style ship. He even wanted to make the entire thing out of steel. If it was, standard cannonballs wouldn't have much effect on it. It would also be a perfect match for his lightning abilities, allowing him to wrap it in his Electro-Repulsive Net to provide the ultimate defense. He could also design simple railguns as their main armaments. As long as he was on the ship, it would have unlimited power. He couldn't resist grinning at the thought. If the world government feared Pluton, what would they think of an invincible steel ship that could fire projectiles from miles away?

Just the thought of his potential future ship was enough to let him drift off to sleep with a smile on his face.

He slept peacefully through the night. If he hadn't been used to Luffy and the others, Bonney's loud snoring might have caused some problems for him. Thankfully, it wasn't. He was the first to wake up to the new day. They'd just let the boat float around randomly all night. He didn't care how long it took to get to his destinations and was just going with the flow.

As he sat up, he glanced over at the still loudly snoring Bonney and froze. She was sprawled out all over and hanging off of the small bed. Each bed wasn't much bigger than a twin mattress leaving them without much extra space. Her pink hair was all over the place while her skimpy sleeping clothes were disheveled and showing more skin than they were intended to. It was perhaps a miracle, or the gods of anime logic, that nothing too private was on display. Her clothing just barely covered her most private areas.

He quickly shook his head and left the cabin to take a cold morning shower. Seeing Bonney like that was a real test of his self-control. He wasn't all that attracted to her, really, but he was in a sixteen-year-old body and all the included pros and cons. Hormones were a pain in the ass. At least they didn't give him much trouble back when he was with Nami and Robin.

After breakfast, they were once again traveling while following the Eternal Pose. If he flew them, they would get to their destination faster, but there was no rush, and it was a good chance for them to get to know each other better. They talked about random things and swapped between who was driving every now and then.

Shortly after lunch, while Bonney was driving, the sky suddenly darkened. Thunder and lightning went rampant as a deluge of rain and hail began to fall from the sky. While Bonney controlled the ship, Markus made sure the door to the cabin was closed tightly to prevent water from getting in. This was the first storm the boat had been through. It was also the first storm he'd run into on his new journey.

While Bonney continued to drive, Markus erected a gravity barrier between them and the hail. Every time hail came into contact with the gravity, it would begin floating up instead of crashing down. The barrier was really only him using Gravity Lift in an area constantly. While that was working, he looked around and frowned when he saw something on the horizon. A line of white. As he continued to watch it, the line grew closer and taller. It was the top of a massive tidal wave heading directly for them.

Markus pat Bonney on the shoulder, "Let me take over."

She didn't say anything and quickly vacated the captain's chair and let him take over. As soon as he sat down, he grabbed the boat with his Gyro-Telekinesis and lifted it high into the air. He didn't need to worry about sailing over the wave and chose to simply fly over it instead. Bonney paled as she felt the ship rise out of the water and begin moving forward at high speed, "What are you doing you crazy bastard?!"

Markus just pointed to the approaching tidal wave. When she saw it, her face paled further, "Oh. Shit."

Markus easily lifted the boat above the top of the wave. As it was passing beneath them, he saw three familiar-looking gigantic monkey-like faces sticking out of it. The hell were those three doing so far into the Grand Line? Whatever. He ignored them and continued to casually drive the flying boat while Bonney held on for dear life. He glanced over at her and had a sudden thought, "Are you afraid of heights?"

Bonney immediately glared at him as she shouted over the storm, "Humans are not meant to fly in the air! It's unnatural!!"

Markus gave her a bland look. Unnatural? This, coming from a woman who could not only manipulate her own age but the ages of others? Speaking to a man who could conjure lightning and manipulate gravity with a thought? Yet, flying was the unnatural thing here? He rolled his eyes at her comment and began lowering the boat out of the air and back to the water after passing over the wave.

When they touched down, Bonney let out a sigh of relief. She clearly did not like flying through the air. It just reaffirmed his thoughts about teaching her Soru and Geppo. Once she knew Geppo, being in the air wouldn't bother her anymore. If she fell, she could just jump on air and land safely. Since he was focusing on her legs, perhaps he should teach her Rankyaku as well. It would give her a good offensive ability and increase her fighting proficiency so she could protect herself better.

After the threat of the tidal wave, the storm wasn't much of an issue anymore. The sea was still violent but the powerful boat didn't have any trouble plowing through it with the electric motors. The further they got into the storm, the more it changed from a mix of rain and hail to mostly hail. At the same time, the air became colder until they passed out of the storm into an area of snow.

Markus looked around while Bonney commented, "We must be near a winter island."

He agreed with her. It wasn't their destination so he didn't think about it much. Since they were using an Eternal Pose, it pointed straight to their destination while ignoring the magnetic fields of other islands. It wasn't impossible for them to pass through the area of influence or even come directly to an island in their path. More likely, they'd probably come to a few of them. With his personal knowledge limited to the islands visited in the canon story, it was possible for there to be hundreds he didn't know. Maybe thousands.

While the boat continued forward in the cold, the two of them donned thick jackets. Bonney had really gone all out and bought clothing for every season. Markus didn't really need the jacket but he liked the feeling of the fur lining the neck and cuffs of the jacket. The cold weather was just an excuse to wear it without sweating to death.

A short time later, he felt the edge of the island enter his active Observation Haki range. He turned the boat slightly to get a little closer to it. It was an unknown island to him and he was a bit curious about it. He didn't plan to stop and check it out, like Luffy would, but he could at least look it over with his Haki.

The first human to enter his range wasn't anything special, still, they caught his attention. The individual he sensed was feeling fear. Without knowing the situation, he couldn't comment on it. However, as more and more people entered his range, all he felt was fear. That was a little concerning to him. It was still none of his business though.

It wasn't until an hour later that he understood while every civilian on the island felt fear, pirates. One of the local buildings, probably a bar, was currently occupied by dozens of men laughing, drinking, eating, and making rude comments. Markus sighed and shook his head which drew Bonney's attention. She gave him a questioning look to he explained, "There's a winter island about a hundred miles from us. There are some pirates on it scaring the locals."

Bonney looked skeptical, "How could you possibly know that?"

Before he could answer, his eyes narrowed. The apparent captain of the pirate group had just said something he shouldn't have. Markus turned the boat and headed directly for the island, "I'll explain later. Just know that when I'm paying attention, nothing within 175 miles can escape my attention."

She still looked skeptical, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt since he seemed pretty certain. Her skepticism ended a few minutes later when the island came into view, "Guess you weren't full of it. But why are you heading for it? I thought we were heading right for Water 7?"

Markus had a dangerous glint in his eyes, "Someone said something they shouldn't have. Now they need to pay for it."